Stephen F. Austin State University Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
Meeting #397
October 12, 2011
Subject to approval at the 398th meeting.
Senators present: Treasurer, Brian Beavers, Christine Bergan, Chair-Elect, Linda Bobo,
David Campo, Theresa Coble, David Cook, David Cox, Dianne Dentice, Ann Ellis, Jason
Fritzler, Dorothy Gottshall, Chair, David Howard, Lora Jacobi, Mikhail Kouliavtsev,
Matthew Lindsey, Michael Maurer, Karen Migl, Jannah Nerren, Emmerentie Oliphant,
Rose Powell, Cindy Pressley, Deb Scott, Parliamentarian, Sandra Stewart, Janet Tareilo,
Juan Carlos Ureña
Excused/Sent Representative:
Dana Cooper; Tracey Hasbun
Not present: Norjuan Austin, excused due to departmental duties
I. Call to order:
A. Chair Howard called the meeting to order at 2:35 pm.
II. Presentations:
A. Dr. Baker Patillo was unavailable due to university business.
B. Mr. Marc Cossich, Chief of Police, UPD
1. Discussed the new Jack Alert system and the importance for faculty
and staff to re-register for text, phone, and email messages
2. Discussed the Active Shooter Program which helps faculty and staff
develop an action plan when they notice a change in behavior in
students or colleagues that might indicate a problem; the training
program is also important for people who travel since it helps create an
awareness about how to stay safe; group training needs to be scheduled
directly with UPD
3. Discussed the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training program and
its importance in providing realistic techniques to defend against rape
on campus and beyond; all female training staff for women only
4. Discussed the “Don’t be a victim” class that addresses identity theft
and provides tips on keeping information such as leaving on vacation
private and off of Facebook
5. Announced that there are now 200 emergency phones located all over
campus including 80 AEDs
6. Encouraged faculty and staff to take advantage of CPR and AED
training and certification
7. Announced the property registration portal on the UPD website;
software tracks items stolen and sold in pawn shops all over the state
and nation
8. Announced the hire of Jane Wilcox as the new parking and trafficking
person for UPD; addressed several questions about visitor parking
issues and faculty complaints about frequent unavailability of parking;
master plans are in progress and will address some of the issues;
visitors who do not have parking passes do receive tickets; entertained
discussion with several faculty members about the installation of a
pedestrian walking signal at College Street (across from cafeteria)
9. Announced that overall violent crime statistics on campus are down for
the year; property crime is up a bit; there were drug busts in 2010 that
affected crime statistics; suggested going on the UPD Web site to get
details
C. Dr. Ric Berry, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
1. Announced Board of Regents meeting on Monday, October 17, 2011;
there will be committee meetings all day
2. Announced the replacement of Regent Valerie Ertz with Connie Ware
of Marshall, TX
3. Announced that online programs are up 12% from last year and that is
in line with the strategic objectives stated in the university strategic
plan
4. Announced that policy revisions/review are on a three year cycle with
tenure policy up for review this year; mentioned that when given the
opportunity to comment on tenure policy only one faculty member
responded and that revisions are minor; mentioned that the wording of
two sections concerning financial exigency will need to be addressed
in view of the budget issues that SFA and other universities in the state
are facing
5. Announced that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is
meeting in Austin at the end of the month; Dr. Berry will be attending
and share details with the Senate in November
6. Mentioned the Conference on Reinventing Teaching and Learning
with emphasis on re-engineering course delivery effectiveness; the
SFA Involvement Center is a finalist for the Star Award; both AARC
and the Education Department Online Completer Program have been
recipients in the past
7. Encouraged faculty to fill out requisitions for spring textbook orders in
order to keep prices down for students; due date is October 28, 2011
D. Mr. Paul Davis, Director, Information Technology Services
1. ITS is in the process of working out problems with registration system
2. Microsoft exchange calendar will be available for anyone who is
Interested; encouraged faculty to coordinate installation with
designated technician for their department
3. SFA students will be issued Google Apps and Microsoft products on
the web that they will be able to keep for life instead of the current
system, which they lose if they miss a semester, or more and then reenroll in the university
4. Announced the implementation of Internet II connectivity with Dallas
to help address construction problems in Houston that sometimes cause
Internet outages on campus; the new system will be faster and more
reliable and result in fewer outages
5. Announced that ITS is implementing a “My Training” repository for
training sessions attended by faculty and staff; this program is
essentially a streamlined tracking system for accreditation and other
development training
6. Announced implementation of Virtual Desktops at different locations
on campus such as the Internet Café, Honors College, and business
office; the personal SFA cloud backs up files automatically and faculty
can now log in to the their desktop from remote locations (home)
7. Addressed mySFA email problems that include system overload,
which causes shutdowns and slowdowns; stated that the email system
was never intended for very large documents to be transmitted and then
stored; system overloads result in higher costs to the university;
realizes that some faculty transmit large documents from place to place
but stressed the limitations of our existing email system
8. Announced a software addition to Banner called “Workflow,” which
will make student Major changes be more efficient and less
cumbersome in comparison to the current system
9. ITS still plans to make student photos available for faculty in mySFA
at the request of the Faculty Senate
10. Announced a software addition to Banner called “Workflow,” which
will make student degree changes more efficient and less cumbersome
II. Officers’ Reports:
A. Chair, David Howard
1. Will go to the TCFS meeting in Austin at the end of the month; invited
other senators to join him
2. Will meet with the Regents on Tuesday, October 18 to talk about the
importance of faculty research and its implications for teaching in higher
education; will take the opportunity to emphasize the nature of the
academy, the necessity of attracting and keeping scholar-teachers, the fact
that research informs teaching and learning, and that research improves
student learning, student success, and student retention.
3. Discussed ongoing conversations/emails with Chair of the Department
Chairs forum at the university regarding possible mid-year pay increase
for faculty and addressing the burden of clerical work professors are
increasingly face with in addition to their teaching responsibilities
B. Treasurer, Brian Beavers
1. Balance is approximately $2,609.00
C. Secretary, Dana Cooper
1. No report this month
IV. Approval of minutes from Meetings #396
A. Senator Cook moved to approve, Senator Beavers seconded
B. Minutes passed unanimously
V. Committee Reports:
A. Professional Welfare Committee: Juan Carlos Urena, Chair
1. The committee presented a resolution to address some issues regarding
faculty evaluations. Discussion ensued regarding recent changes in
state law that precipitated the resolution. Because there were some
questions about the aforementioned law, Chair David Howard
suggested that the committee revisit the issue, table it for this
meeting, and reopen the discussion in November with clarification on
some key points.
B. Elections Committee: Mikhail Kouliavtsev, Chair
1. The committee is looking for the next person to take over elections
when Mikhail steps down. The committee feels that it is important to
have some continuity from year to year with the senate elections
process.
2. Another issue that the committee is dealing with is how to increase the
visibility of the faculty senate in order to get more interest from
faculty for future elections. They are asking for input from senators.
C. University Civility Committee Update: Cindy Pressley
1. The committee has met twice with Adam Peck, Dean of Student
Affairs, to discuss how to increase awareness about this issue with
students, faculty, and staff.
2. The primary focus for the committee is on how students use language
in public places on campus. One way the committee discussed to
combat bad language is to solicit help from the Purple Haze group in a
role model capacity.
3. Another issue the civility committee is how to best address the
problem of littering on campus.
4. The problem with student texting in class continues to be an issue for
faculty at SFA and the committee is hopes to increase student
awareness and encourage a change in behavior.
VI. Old Business:
A. Banner Issues update
1. Senator Tareilo met with Melinda Colby to discuss the Banner issue.
Ms. Colby was responsive to the questions about students being
dropped from classes due to financial aid issues. Ms. Colby said much
of the problem occurs when students do not follow procedure and
“accept” financial aid in the Banner system in a timely fashion. Her
staff is trying to educate both students and faculty advisors about
potential problems if deadlines are met for accepting student financial
aid. She explained that even though the Banner system is in the
process of full integration, there are still some issues with the system
especially during peak registration times in the fall and spring.
B. Status of distribution of SFA polo shirts to new faculty
1. Shirts have been distributed; most new faculty appreciative
VII. New Business:
A. Leave reporting
B. Personal information release
IX. Adjournment:
A. Chair Howard moved to table new business until the next Senate meeting in
November.
B. Chair Howard moved to adjourn
C. Meeting adjourned at 4:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Dianne Dentice, sitting in for
Dana Cooper, Secretary